After it was discovered that Jose Reyes would miss several weeks of spring training and Opening Day due to a thyroid problem, the 20-year-old Ruben Tejada was suddenly thrust into a big-league job – with backup from wily veteran Alex Cora. In truth, Tejada was nowhere near ready for prime-time, despite the hoopla provided by … Read more
On paper, Reyes was not even the third-best shortstop in the NL East going into 2010. Hanley Ramirez, Jimmy Rollins, and Yunel Escobar all had excellent seasons in 2009 while Jose spent most of the year on the DL. However, by the time 2010 ended, Jose had found his way back toward the top – … Read more
I will be the first to admit I didn’t think Ike Davis would do as well as he did, as quickly as he did. My projection was for Davis to spend at least another half-year in the minors, and join the Mets at some point in July or later – after it was clear the … Read more
Watching Luis Hernandez limp around the bases was excruciating yet inspiring; the image will forever be etched in my mind. He absolutely commanded my respect for that display of True Grit in a way not even John Wayne could have demonstrated. Beyond that vignette, however, there isn’t much to say about the journeyman utility infielder. … Read more
You have to like Mike Hessman for his size; if nothing else, he is a man you want on your side in the middle of a brawl or while walking down a dark alley. Beyond that, Hessman didn’t display much value. Which is a shame, because he seemed like a nice enough guy – someone … Read more
You hate Luis Castillo – I get it. We all thought that Omar Minaya was out of his mind for bidding against himself and giving Castillo a 4-year, $25M contract. We all knew it was a bad decision before the 2008 season even started, and we continue to suffer through the frustration that Castillo will … Read more
For me, Josh Thole was one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises of 2010. Based on what I saw of him in late 2009, I didn’t think Thole would ever evolve into a mediocre Major League catcher, and further, did not believe he’d ever provide enough offense to make up for his lack of … Read more
When Henry Blanco was signed in early December of 2009, it was the biggest signing of the offseason to that point. I made some fun of the signing, since it seemed silly to sign a backup catcher before a starting catcher – particularly since the Mets seemed intent on either keeping Topps Rookie Omir Santos … Read more
